LogFAQs > #960755405

Some more expanded thoughts now that I've slept on it.

- The first act of the game was very good. I liked Sharlayan and Thavnair a lot, and it was good set up for what was coming. Capping it off with Tower of Zot was great (even if I struggled with that Magus Sisters fight)
- Garlemald was interesting from a story perspective, though I found the area itself a bit less interesting. I didn't care for the 83 solo duty in practice, even though in theory it was really cool. Really enjoyed Tower of Babil, especially the overt FF4 stuff (Barnabus just smashing Lugae at the start of the fight got a smile out of me).
- Moon, again, was interesting story-wise, though the area left something to be desired, and was a hassle to navigate before you got flying. The Zodiark trial coming this early was a welcome surprise, and I'm glad they went this route and got Fandaniel out of the way before too long. The Loporrit section felt like a dragged a bit.
- Final Days Thavnair was a high point. This section was super bleak and I really appreciated the heck out of it. The scene where the guy watches his kid turn into a monster and then immediately get stepped on was fucking brutal and probably one of the things that is most going to stick with me this expansion.
- Elpis was the other, obvious, high point. I did feel like it was a bit fanservice-y at the start, but the way they actually fleshed out some of the Ascians (Emet-Selch especially, and without cheapening anything that happened in Shadowbringers) was excellent. I still have some misgivings about Meteion as a character, and the game gets a little heavy-handed about the life doesn't matter stuff, but I can appreciate some existential dread, so I was okay with it. I was also disappointed we never got to see Azem.
- Return on Sharlayan was definitely the weakest part of the xpac. This section really felt like padding to me. I also wasn't particularly engaged by the 89 dungeon, though the Hydaelyn trial was great.
- The final area is mixed for me. When you first land, it's great - this huge empty space, devoid of life, bleak and empty and it's fucking dope - until you get out of the cutscenes and there's like 10 people running around on tigers and driving cars. It was a weird dissonance that kinda broke the immersion for me. The scion 'sacrifices' felt a bit flat because it was very obvious none of it was permanent. I also didn't actually love the musical choice here. The You're Not Alone part was good, though.
- The final dungeon/trial was good, and a mostly satisfying conclusion, though it kind of lacked the awe that Amaurot/Hades had at the end of ShB. For me anyway. I really didn't like the music in the last dungeon either - this was actually something that followed through most of the expansion, I didn't find the soundtrack, save a few (mostly cutscene) songs, to be all that memorable. Which, given how good Soken has been in the past, was a tad disappointing.
- Zenos. I've been anti-Zenos ever since they brought him back, and I don't think this changed anything for me. The final fight didn't feel like it had any gravitas because I never really saw Zenos as a rival, he was just a walking monologue post-Stormblood, so it was hard to take this bit seriously. But I don't think I was ever going to be satisfied with anything they did with his character, so in the end I'm accepting of how they ended it.

Overall, I think I wish the bigger moments had a bit more emotional weight, because they didn't hit me that hard (the Venat scenes post-87 aside). The smaller ones were much more impactful and were the ones that affected me most (Urianger's conversation with Moenbryda's parents killed me, despite the fact the Moenbryda is a character I have zero attachment to). Which is fine, but for such an epic, sweeping conclusion to the story, I though those bigger moments would have felt a bit more impactful.

Anyway, these are my thoughts, and I did really enjoy this expansion and am looking forward to diving into some of the post-game stuff and harvesting mats forever.

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